November
28,2001
Aqua-Leisure
Industries Inc., of Avon, Mass., is voluntarily recalling about 90,000
"SunSmart" baby floats. The leg holes in the seat of the float can
tear, causing children to unexpectedly fall into the water and possibly drown.
Aqua-Leisure has received 12 reports of the floats' seats tearing and causing
children to fall into the water. There were four incidents of children becoming
completely submerged before a caregiver was able to reach them. No injuries
have been reported.
The recalled floats are packaged as "SunSmart" Baby Adjustable
Sunshade Boats. The baby floats are blue and white circular tubes with a seat
in the middle, and a detachable protective sunshade. The vinyl floats, intended
for ages 6 months to 18 months, have pictures of purple crabs and various
colored fish along the top. The word, "SunSmart" is printed across
the front of the float. The recalled boats can be identified by the lettering
"C/S" molded on the valve. Juvenile products, specialty and discount
department stores nationwide, including Target, K-Mart, Bed Bath and Beyond and
Baby Central, sold the baby floats from August 2000 through September 2001 for
between $10 and $13.
Consumers should stop using these recalled floats immediately and contact
Aqua-Leisure for a free replacement. Consumers can contact Aqua-Leisure at
(866) 807-3998 between 9 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit
the firm's web site at http://www.aqualeisure.com/cr-psi.html.